


Alive {Rewrite}

by SummerStormFlower



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Angst, Big Sisters, Crying, Death, F/M, Family, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Heartbreak, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Language, Nya swears once, Other, Poverty, Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 17:15:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29969688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SummerStormFlower/pseuds/SummerStormFlower
Summary: Before the resistance is formed, Nya, Lloyd and Pixal grieve the "death" of their friends.
Relationships: Cole & Lloyd Garmadon & Kai & Nya & Jay Walker & Zane, Lloyd Garmadon & Nya, Nya/Jay Walker, P.I.X.A.L./Zane (Ninjago)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 13





	Alive {Rewrite}

Nya never thought they’d be homeless. She had seen Destiny’s Bounty get destroyed time and time again, but they’d always managed to repair it. And even when their ship was in pieces, they’d always had somewhere to go. They don’t this time.

An ugly coughing fit erupts from Lloyd that makes Nya wince. They’re sitting on the literal sidewalk in this poor fishing village. They aren’t the only people either. There’s a row of homeless families on the other side of the street. The only reason they can see is thanks to the flickering streetlights, clouds obscuring the moon.

They’ve been running from the Sons of Garmadon for three days and nights. Running and hiding, then some more running and hiding. Lloyd had gotten sick somewhere in between.

He shivers, the thin blanket over his shoulders failing to keep him warm. Nya puts her arm around him and pulls him close, giving him half of her own blanket. His forehead is hot, but the rest of him is freezing.

Nya looks up at Pixal, who’s standing, keeping watch. She returns Nya’s sad look.

Six minutes later, Dareth comes back with bread, milk and medicine.

“Sorry, this was all I could get,” he says, splitting the bread into four pieces.

“It’s okay,” Nya reassures, accepting the piece of bread he gives her gratefully.

“I do not need to eat,” Pixal says when Dareth holds some bread out to her. “Please give it to Lloyd.”

Lloyd coughs and shakes his head. “No. No, I can’t. I can’t stomach it.”

“You gotta eat, bud,” Dareth says gently.

Lloyd shakes his head again, clearing his throat. “Just give me some medicine please.”

Dareth hesitates and looks at Nya questioningly.

“Fine,” Nya says, crawling over to their little box of belongings, looking for a spoon. “But you have to eat something later, Lloyd.” She finds a teaspoon and gives it to Dareth, settling beside Lloyd again. She rubs his freezing hands between hers, breathing warm air on them.

One of the streetlights flickers and burns out. The cold nips at their skin. Dareth gets Pixal to sit and shares his blanket with her. Lloyd trembles and breathes through his mouth. Nya holds him tighter.

Then Lloyd starts sobbing, big wet tears falling down his face, inhaling too sharp. “They’re dead!” he cries.

Pixal drops her head in her hands, Dareth placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“They’re dead,” Lloyd’s voice shakes, “and my dad’s evil, and Harumi fooled me.”

Nya aches all over, but her heart aches most of all. She misses their friends. She misses their master. She misses her brother.

She misses Jay. She misses Jay so much.

But she still has Lloyd. And even Pixal and Dareth. She still has her power. She can still get back up when she falls. She still has her weapon. She’s still strong enough to fight. She still has her spirit.

Nya presses her cheek to Lloyd’s hair. “You’ve got me,” she whispers. “I swear I’ll protect you.”

Lloyd chokes on a sob. “Nobody can protect us anymore. My dad’s gonna kill us.”

“I won’t let him,” Nya says, squeezing Lloyd’s shoulder tighter. “As long as I have breath in my body, I’ll protect you.”

As long as she has a way to fight, she’ll protect her baby brother. As long as she has a clear mind, she’ll protect the only brother she has left. As long as her heart’s still beating, she’ll protect Lloyd.

##

The next morning, Nya awakes to the smell of fish in the air, the reds and pinks of the sunrise trickling across the sky. Lloyd is still asleep beside her. Dareth is spread out like a starfish on her other side, snoring away.

Pixal is nowhere to be seen. She must’ve gone to get breakfast for them.

Nya gets up and heads to the dock to watch the sun finish rising. To her surprise, she finds Pixal there, watching the colours rise above the water, slowly lighting up the sky. A few fishermen are out as well.

“Hey Pix,” Nya greets, moving to stand next to her.

“Good morning, Nya,” Pixal responds. “Did you sleep well?”

Nya stretches her arms over her head, hearing her back pop and wincing. “No,” she says, then turns back to her friend. “What about you?”

“I do not need to sleep.”

Nya knows Pixal has always been a private person (except with Zane), but she’s never been this closed off before. She’s never treated Nya so coldly before. So distantly.

They’re quiet for a little while, the sound of the waves and fishermen working soothing. Strangely, they smell of fish has become soothing as well. Maybe because they’re safe near fish. The Sons of Garmadon haven’t looked for them here. Yet.

Nya glances at Pixal. That guarded expression on her face doesn’t belong there

“You can talk to me, Pix,” she tells her.

Pixal frowns, but doesn’t remove her gaze off the sunrise. “You seem to forget that I am a nindroid, Nya. I do not feel things,” she says.

Her tone. Her face. It’s all wrong. This isn’t the Pixal Nya knows. This is just a shell.

Nya grabs Pixal’s arm and yanks her towards her. Pixal gasps.

“Bullshit,” Nya spits. Then her eyes soften and she loosens her grip. “You have half of Zane’s heart inside you. And you just lost him. Of course you can feel that.”

Pixal looks like she’s about to protest, but then her bottom lip quivers. Her eyes glaze over and shoulders tremble. Nya pulls her into her arms.

“I wish I didn’t,” she says shakily.

Nya can’t help but see Jay. Her heart throbs.

“I know,” she says quietly. She knows.

##

When Nya goes to sleep that night, she dreams. She dreams of Kai, the blacksmith shop, how he used to carry her on his hip. She dreams of Master Wu, stroking his white beard. She dreams of Cole and how his eyes light up at the sight of cake, or when he’s proud of the way his drawing has turned out. She dreams of Zane, in his pink apron, humming cheerily while washing the dishes.

She dreams of Jay and the way he blushed when Nya found the poetry he wrote about her.

Then she wakes up.

“Did I ever tell Jay I love him?” she asks.

Lloyd, beside her, doesn’t respond right away. Then he takes her hand and says, “He knew.”

And she cries.

##

When they find only half of the destroyed Destiny’s Boutny and a Traveler's Tea leaf, Pixal’s face glows with joy and relief and Lloyd grins, green eyes glistening with happy tears.

And Nya’s heart is mended back together, hope blooming again in her soul like a flower.

They’re alive.

Her brother is alive.

Jay is alive.

She’ll see Jay’s smile and hear his voice again. She’ll see all of them again.

She’s going to tell Jay that he’s her sun, her star, her sky, her hero, the love of her life. Lloyd will hug each of his brothers with all his might. Pixal will kiss Zane with all the love in her heart.

They’re going to see them again. All they have to do is hold on. They just have to hold on. That doesn’t sound too hard anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


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